


Love in the Broken Soul

by Starlightdream98



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Character Death, Comfort, F/M, Friendship/Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:09:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23711158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlightdream98/pseuds/Starlightdream98
Summary: 'Lewis looked behind him only to see green slowly show up on his best friend's (and secret crush) skin.' 'Vi, who's Lewis?' 'Nothing will harm you ever again, Arthur. I swear it on my life.'What if seconds before he died, Lewis saw what was happening to Arthur. What if, to save Arthur from the guilt, he took his friend's memories of himself instead of Vivi's?  What if Vivi saw her own dog change into a kitsune only to bite off the possessed arm of one of the people she loves after Lewis was killed? She, after the cave, became overprotective of Arthur, vowing to never let another supernatural being harm him.And a year later a van broke down in front of a haunted mansion pulsing with magenta light.disclaimer: I don't own Mystery Skulls Animated characters; they are owned by MysteryBen. also, there is eventual Lewvithur, character death, blood and memory loss.
Relationships: Arthur/Lewis (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur/Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 122





	1. Prologue: the Cave

**Author's Note:**

> So before this story starts, again, I don't own Mystery Skulls Animated characters. Also, instead of Vivi being older, she will be 20 years old in this story. (I just love the fact of her being younger then her boys. So cute!) This is an AU where Lewis saw Arthur being possessed before his death and ended up taking his memories from him, leaving Vivi to live with the guilt of failing her friends. And after Lewis died, Vivi will be more mature, cautious and serious when investigating the supernatural with Mystery and Arthur, who has amnesia. Both Vivi and Mystery will be extremely protective of Arthur; so if someone captures or harms him, run... RUN FOR THE HILLS! She will also wear a purple ascot in a ponytail instead of her blue headband after the cave) 
> 
> Now, on with the story!

It was dark at night, with green fog coming out of a demonic looking cave with a skull sign on the side, smudged wording from years of weather that said 'beware for all those who enter; only death and despair will follow', making it hard to read. An orange van with the word 'Mystery Skulls' pulled up and stopped in front of the entrance to the cave. Then the lights to the van turned off and the doors were opened as three people and their dog got out.

A purple haired twenty one year old man, with purple clothes, magenta eyes and tan skin, got out first as he said, opening and closing the front door of the driver's seat, "Well gang, this is the place. The Emerald Cove." A blued haired, pale skinned, twenty year old woman, with blue clothes, sparkling, baby blue eyes and pink glasses on, quickly got out in excitement and said, as she jumped up and down, almost bumping into her purple haired boyfriend, "This place is said to be haunted by some type of ghost. There were rumors of people running away from the cave in fear and panic, a strange green mist, weird sounds and possession! Oh, LewLew, Artie, let's go inside! This could be the real thing!" 

A pale skinned, twenty one year old man with spiked up, yellow-orange hair with two dark antenna strands and amber eyes and a small, dark goatee on his chin was the last person to get out of the van. He wore a white shirt, an orange vest with a blue circle, a purple skull and a yellow star pin on, orange pants and white orangish shoes on, along with two black wristbands on each of his wrists. Jumping out of the vehicle behind the blonde was a white, red and black haired dog, who had a red collar with a question mark on it and yellow glasses on his snout, the group's mascot and companion, Mystery. 

The yellow-orange haired man was shaking slightly with fear, for he didn't like this place one bit; something about this cave really set him off. Looking at his two best friends (and the people he was in love with) said, his voice a slight stutter from alarm, "U-um, V-Vi? L-Lew? Maybe w-we should g-go back. I-I have a b-bad feeling about t-this..." But before he could finish his sentence, his friends pulled him forward and into their arms, making him stumble. They looked at their scared friend with such tenderness and care that Arthur swore that his heart would pop right out of his chest. 

Lewis looked at his best friend since third grade/secret crush and said, as he, gently, firmly, put his giant hand on Arthur's left shoulder, "Don't worry, Artie. We got you. As long as Vivi, Mystery and I are here, nothing will hurt you. Besides, the sooner we solve this case, the quicker we can go home to rest." Looking to Vivi who nodded her head, Arthur gave a small shaky smile in return; he was ready to solve this case, trusting his best friends. With that, they entered the cave after Lewis lit a torch. 

They walked for what felt like ages before coming to a fork in the road; the left path leading up, the right path leading down. It was decided; the two boys took the higher path while the girl and dog took the lower path. No one saw the green mist move and, feeling the delicate soul from the smaller male, latched on to Arthur, feeding him lies about his friends; the wicked demon slowly winning control over the young man. Oh boy, it couldn't wait to get started on it's road to chaos! It's been decades since humans last visited it's cave and it wasn't going to pass this up. Time to kill and have some fun while doing it in glee. So why not use the 'weak link' in this group to kill; oh this blonde will be perfect for something else after it achieves it's goal, too. But it doesn't need it's puppet to know that yet.

By the time Arthur realised that he was slowly being possessed, he and Lewis were at the edge of a cliff. Unaware of what was happening to Arthur, Lewis looked over the edge only to freeze, seeing a straight clean drop onto pointy staglamites. As he took a good long look, he said, turning back to Arthur to tell him something, blushing as he did so, "Artie, there's something that Vivi and I want to tell you. You see, we've been dating for a while and we both realised that we were missing something. We both realised that we... OMG ARTHUR WHAT'S HAPPENING TO YOUR ARM!?? WHY IS IT TURNING GREEN!?"

When Lewis saw green spreading through his friend's arm, his eyes widened, fear setting in at seeing a demonic being had control over Arthur's left side, where it was wickedly smiling, sharp teeth showing and a black-green eye was sparkling insanely. Looking to his friend's right side, he knew that it was Arthur, the tears going down an amber eye, his mouth in a silent scream, and he could see that he was trying to back away. Something was trying to completely possess his best friend and he didn't even know it. 

Then the thing in Arthur's body, whatever was possessing his best friend and crush, shot out, it's clawed hand pushing Lewis over the edge before he even had a chance to react to save them both from whatever vile, evil being was in control. "Oh, no! No! ARTHUR!!" Lewis screamed out as he looked at his possessed friend in horrified realization and fear, seeing Vivi, who was a few inches behind Arthur, look straight in to his eyes, fear and terror in her eyes, and their angry, growling companion, Mystery, transform in to a kitsune, running behind and biting down on to his friend's possessed arm, thinking, as he plummeted to his doom, right arm out stretched in the air towards the cliff, torch falling away from his hand, 'no no no. not Arthur anyone but him. Please! I don't want him to see me die! Forget this moment! Please don't let Arthur remember this! Please!!' before landing on top of the staglamites with a wash of intense pain and agony. With the last of his strength, he lifted his head, only to see the end point of a stalagmite straight through his abdomen as he coughed up blood, the life giving fluid staining his clothes and the floor below him . Then he heard the terrifying heartwreaching screams from above.

The last thing he saw and heard as he looked up from where he was pushed were the sounds of Vivi's heartbroken cries, Arthur's pained, grieved screams and a giant seven tailed fox throwing something screeching and cursing over the edge of the cliff. Then Lewis knew no more as his breathing and heart stopped, dying in pain, sadness (for his loved ones) and rage (at his murderer, the demon, for using his best friend against them) After Lewis breathed his last, a burst of purple/pink energy shot up to the cliff, heading straight towards the crying, wounded mechanic, knocking him in the eyes as he lost consciousness from the trauma and blood loss, unaware of the magic blocking his friend from his mind. The very last wish of Lewis Pepper.


	2. Lewis's Death: Vivi's POV

Vivi's POV 

Vivi's blue eyes widened in excitement as she and Mystery walked down the lower path. Pretty soon they saw an opening leading to a vast area of pointy staglamites. Vivi felt slight fear go through her when she saw those spikes, thinking what would happen to a person if they fell on top of them. Before she could take a closer look, she heard Mystery growl and turned to see him running back to the other path that Lewis and Arthur took. Vivi was thinking, as she ran to catch up, 'If Mystery is growling, it can't be good. He only growls when there is real danger going on. Oh dear god, what if Arthur was right? What if this place is dangerous!? I have to get to them! They could be in trouble!'

After seeing Mystery run the other way, Vivi was filled with worry, panic and alarm as she ran up the path; something was really wrong. As she reached the top, she saw Mystery looking at Arthur and Lewis, ears flat and growling, frantically looking for something, the boys not hearing their mascot growling. After taking three deep breaths to calm her heart, she looked up only for her eyes to widen in horror as she saw Arthur's skin turning green while Lewis, who had his hands together in front of him and his head was down with a blush on his face, was confessing their feelings to their sunflower. She was frozen with fear as the green spread from her friend's left arm up to half of his face. When she saw Lewis finally look up and freeze at seeing their friend like this, she could see fear in his magenta eyes; not only for himself, but for Arthur as well. 

Everything happened so quickly; the demon in Arthur's body shooting out and pushing Lewis, their dog transforming into a seven tailed kitsune and biting Arthur's arm off, all of them screaming in terror, horror, fear, despair and pain, hearing a sickening ribbing noise of skin and bones meeting stone at the bottom of the cliff, and a huge wave of pink/purple like magic hit Arthur in his tear filled amber eyes, who was bleeding profusely from his stump of his left arm and shocked at what he was forced to do, knocking him out cold.

Knowing that Lewis was dead by whatever evil being that possessed their crush/best friend, Vivi ran to Arthur's side and held him in her arms, crying and screaming his name. She took her blue scarf off and tied it tightly around what was left of Arthur's arm, hoping to stop the bleeding for a while as she said, panic, fear and horror flowing out of her, "Don't worry, Artie! I'm here! Oh god... We're going to get help for you! Don't worry! Just please hang in there! We've never should've gone to the cave. I've never should've thought about and telling you and Lewis to come here! I can't lose you too... Please don't die, Arthur! Please!!" All the while her mind was in constant grief and guilt. She should've gone with them; she could've saved both of her boys! 

Mystery, in his kitsune from, said, as he looked sorrowfully at his two, last living charges, "Vivi, I'm mourning as much as you are, but we must get help for Arthur. Please." while he silently stated in his mind 'I'm so sorry, Vivi. Arthur. Lewis. I have failed you all. I should've sensed that demon sooner before... Before...' Mystery looked over the edge and saw Lewis's corpse laying limply on the stalagmite that ended his life, the man's once kind and caring magenta eyes were now horrified and full of fear, horror, terror, sorrow and guilt, blank and unseeing; the last emotions one of his young kits ever showed before his light was stuffed out by rotting, malicious green. Mystery shed a few tears in grief, sadness and regret before looking at Vivi and helped her get Arthur out of the cave. Even though it was the only way to free his friend, seeing Arthur bleeding and unconscious, he felt a spike of rage and hatred for what that monster made the most fragile of his charges do, but he squashed those negative emotions down; He'll deal with the demon later. He wasn't about to lose another pup to the clutches of death!

Vivi, with Mystery's help, picked Arthur's unconscious form off the ground and on to the kitsune's back. They both walked out of the cave to put Arthur in the van before going back for Lewis's body. Before Vivi walked in to the cave again, she told Mystery to change back in to his dog form and try to signal for some help. She also told him sternly that he better explain what he really was and that they need to tell their families (her's, Lewis's and Arthur's) what really happened tonight. Mystery agreed. 

They were lucky. By the time Vivi got Lewis's body off the stone (just because she's short doesn't mean she isn't very strong...) and outside the cave, a group of motorcyclists were around her blonde friend and Mystery, who was in his dog form. One of the young adults asked her what had happened as they looked over the young mechanic but were shocked at seeing a dead body in the girl's hold and called 911. After Vivi explained to the people what had happened, (leaving out the fact that Arthur was possessed and that he was forced to kill because who would believe that!?) they heard sirens closing in on them. Once two EMS and Police vehicles arrived and gathered information from both the girl and motorcyclists, one team loaded Lewis's body in to a black bag and was taken to the morgue while Arthur, who was strapped in to the stretcher of another EMS crew, was being loaded in to the ambulance, one of the EMS doing CPR and rescue breaths on the blonde as they loaded him in. Within the next hour, after saying goodbye to the motorcyclists and thanking them for their help, the Mystery Skulls were on their way to the hospital.

As Vivi drove the van, Mystery in the front seat looking sorrowfully out the window and following the ambulance that held Arthur, she vowed that she wouldn't let anyone or anything harm their... no... Her sunflower ever again. Since the supernatural killed her boyfriend, she won't lose her last piece of her heart; her already fractured soul would be destroyed if she lost Arthur like she lost Lewis. If she wanted to quit investigating then see her last friend die, then so be it. She'd do it in a heartbeat. 

Two hours later, they pulled up to the hospital. After seeing Arthur wheeled in for surgery after giving her consent, she saw that the Peppers, her parents and Arthur's family were waiting in the lobby. (she called them as she drove to the hospital) Taking a deep breath, she and Mystery, who was aloud in as long as he wasn't a disturbance, walked over to their families, ready to tell the truth of what happened tonight. 

Once they did, their families were horrified, shocked and saddened by the news, especially the Peppers, who were also furious (even the youngest child, Paprika) at the demon for controlling Arthur and making him kill Lewis. As they talked and comforted each other for a while (about five hours), Mystery noticed a doctor walking towards them and pawed at Vivi's foot, getting her attention. She turned her head and stood up as the doctor stopped in front of her and the worried and grieving families. She hoped that her best friend was alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gross sobbing* why do I do this to my favorite characters?... Why!?


	3. The Hospital

Griford Hill Hospital: 3:00pm, ER Surgery/Operation Room  
Temple, Texas

Arthur felt like he was falling, suffocating in the darkness that surrounded him. He could still feel pain and agony; he couldn't tell where it was, but dear gods did it hurt! He looked up and could faintly see a small light that was slowly getting bigger and brighter. Once the light was close enough, he touched it and was quickly thrown back in to his body, where doctors were desperately trying to revive him. Even though an oxygen mask was on his mouth to help him breath, he took a shaky breath as his heart started again, cheers coming from the doctors, though they immediately started to continue the surgery as they stabilized his condition. He couldn't tell what kind of surgery he was in as he fell back into unconsciousness. 

Two days passed before Arthur woke up again. It was noon as he saw a few familiar faces besides Vivi and Mystery, who both had red rimmed eyes from crying, the girl holding his right hand and the dog on the bed with his ears back. The people he saw besides his friends were the Peppers, the Yukinos, his uncle Lance and... His parents. His parents were there? Why were they here and crying? He thought that they hated him after he told them that he was transgender and was in love with his best friend (s?). They didn't disown him but they didn't talk to him for weeks which nearly broke his heart. 

He must've said that out loud, for his mother burst in to tears as she said, as his father gave his son a sad and hurt stare, "That's not true, my son! My poor baby boy... We're so sorry; we should've listened to you and supported you! Instead we let our anger and religious beliefs get the best of us! Instead of supporting you, we ignored you for weeks before you went on your trip with your friends! We regret that when we finally realized that you were who you are and let our misplaced anger go, you already left with your team on your journey before we could apologize for what we did. We've never felt so much guilt at what we did to you! Both your father and I love you so much, Arthur! A-and now... Oh dear lord, I'm so sorry... N-no one d-deserves t-this." as Mr. Kingsman pulled his sobbing wife into a hug to calm her down. With the beginning of tears threatening to spill over the man's brown eyes, he looked at Arthur and said, his voice cracking as he tried to explain, "We were visiting your uncle Lance to apologise for what we did when we got the call from the hospital, saying that you and your friends were out hiking and ended up being attacked by some type of monster near a cave.... I-it d-did... D-dear gods, my son..." 

As he looked at his normally calm, caring and loving parents breakdown in tears, Arthur didn't understand why they were crying, however his heart started to mend as his parents were accepting him for who he is. He went to hug them but as he tried to sit up, he froze, feeling something off with his left side. Shaking from alarm and panic, he looked to his left and started to hyperventilate, for his arm was gone, torn clean off. Vivi, the three little Pepper sisters and his (still crying) mother pulled him into hugs and did everything they could to calm him down; Mystery laying down on the blonde's lap as he whimpered in concern and worry, leaning his head up and licking the blonde's cheek. Thirty minutes passed before Arthur was calm enough to talk. Then came the moment that froze everyone in the room with panic and true horror. When Mr. Pepper and Mrs. Pepper, in sadness, told them that the funeral for Lewis would be held in about three weeks, Arthur had a confused look on his face, pink faintly flashing in his amber eyes and said, confusion in his voice, "If you don't mind me asking Mr. and Mrs. Pepper, but who's Lewis?" None of the people in the room even saw the tiny sparks coming from the blonde's eyes as they were close to panicking. Why didn't Arthur remember Lewis, his best friend since third grade!? What could've happened to his memories!? Did that blasted demon have anything to do with this!?

To calm the shocked family and horrified friends of Arthur Kingsman down, a doctor was called in to check what was wrong. It was later confirmed that Arthur's mind was blocking every and all memories of Lewis due to trauma and the fact that he must've saw his friend die a horrible death by whatever beast that had attacked them. (In a way, he wouldn't remember what happened in the cave because it wasn't his fault. Probably from the trauma and blood loss.) However, he could still remember the Pepper family, both the parents and the three little girls, and the fact that they run the 'Pepper Paradiso', which confused the doctor but he just chalked it up as amnesia. 

By the time it was night, it was only Arthur, Vivi and Mystery in the room while everyone else went home to rest. Vivi squeezed Arthur's right hand as his eyes slowly closed to rest, unaware of the loss they suffered. She still had faint traces of tears running down her cheek. She look to Mystery, his eyes holding centuries of wisdom and knowledge, and said, quietly as to not wake their friend, "Mystery, things won't go back to normal now, will they?" His heart breaking as he saw his normally bright, bubbly charge 'die out' from the death of one of her beloved and seeing the other in the hospital looking so frail, drained and having no memory of their fallen member, Mystery looked into Vivi's now dull, icy, blue eyes and said, his paws moving his glasses up a little and nodding in confirmation, "I'm afraid so, Vivi. However what makes me concerned is Arthur's memory loss of Lewis. How should we..." 

Vivi immediately held her hand up, cutting Mystery's rant off as she said, voice suddenly filled with hurt, grief, pain and heartbreak, but most importantly guilt, "Arthur can't know what happened at all, Mystery. Maybe this way, we can heal. At least I'll know that Artie won't wallow in guilt of being forced to kill LewLew. I won't be able to handle it. As much as I'd hate to say it but if... if Arthur remembers Lewis and knows what happened tonight, he might... I can't lose him, too, Mystery. I just can't. I'll be shattered if I lost him too. I owe him that much after suggesting to investigate that blasted cave." Mystery nodded slowly in sorrow, knowing that Lewis's death was hurting them both. However, they both, though reluctantly, agreed to never mention Lewis ever again; even though it will hurt not just them, but also Arthur and everyone who knew the sweet, protective, brave and kindhearted purple haired young man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, isn't this starting to get good? Poor babies...


	4. Lewis's 'Rebirth'

ONE WEEK LATER

In a certain cave about three hours from Tempo, Texas, a man, gasping and near the end of a scream, woke up at the bottom of the cave, panting softly with his hand moving over his chest. The purple haired man looked around for his friends, realizing that he was alone. As he stood up, he said, not noticing his voice was different and echoy, "V-Vivi? A-Arthur? M-Mystery? Where are you guys? What happened?" He looked around until his eyes landed on a small heart shaped locket that was pulsing warmly in blue and yellow, with a tad bit of crimson? What the heck?... Well, he might as well take it with him as he tries to find his friends. He walked over to it, only to stop, finally noticing his hands were black shadows and bones.

Lewis froze and ran to the water he could see that was near the locket. He looked in to it to see that his eyes were black while the pupils were magenta. Looking down since he now felt pain in his chest, he saw a (familiar) hole in his abdomen. In utter fear, horror and panic, he looked up and turned around, muttering 'no no no no please no I can't be dead that couldn't be real', hoping to be wrong and that he didn't die, that he would wake up in their shared apartment curled up with his friends in their shared bed, only to scream in terror at seeing dried blood on a certain stalagmite that ended his life as he fell to his knees. His hands clutched his head as he started to remember his last moments of life, pink flame-like tears flowing out of his eyes as he sobbed. 

As he slowly recalled what happened, Lewis felt rage, hatred and a thirst for revenge shot though him like hot lava erupting from a volcano, as he remembered seeing Arthur being possessed by the demon... the one who used the man he fell in love with for his death; the blonde's tears and silent scream from the side he could control forever haunting his mind as he was forced to kill him, the demon laughing insanely mixed with his best friend's cries of guilt, horror, fear and sorrow. As his flashback came to an end, he heard something move towards him. Lewis 'jumped' up in alarm only to narrow his eyes in hatred and anger, seeing an arm, green as envy with a black-green eye on it's palm and a familiar black wristband; the color of the arm was the same color of the malicious entity that had possessed and made Arthur kill him. That blasted creep won't try harming others again; especially if it tried to go after his beloved sunflower (Arthur) and energetic orchid (Vivi). Not if Lewis can help it.

Stopping in the middle of it's angry rant, the demon hand looked up, sensing a powerful burst in energy, only to try to flee seeing the enraged man it killed emerge as a vengeful ghost. It didn't go far, for Lewis grabbed it and, looking hatefully at his 'murderer', said, as his furious voice almost became demonic, "HOW DARE YOU!? YOU TOOK MY LIFE AWAY FROM ME, YOU DEMON! YOU USED ONE OF THE PEOPLE I LOVE AS YOUR TOOL!! YOU'LL PAY DEARLY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!" 

Lewis, unknowing to his sudden change in to a vengeful skeleton ghost with magenta flames, threw the possessed arm in to the air; the demon trying to negotiate with the angered spirit, only to freeze, feeling fear for the first time in it's existence, as Lewis threw his flaming hand back and lit the arm on fire. The demon screamed in agony as it's existence was burned away; it never felt such pain before! With rage clouding his thoughts at what was done to him and his loved ones, Lewis didn't stop throwing flame blasts until the dying screams stopped and the demon arm was nothing more then ash. As he started to calm down, he realized that he couldn't feel the evil presence anymore; warmth filled him as he realized that, not only did he avenged his death, but also made sure that thing wouldn't harm anyone he loves ever again. The demon was dead.

The magenta skeleton ghost fell to his knees in exhaustion, finally seeing what he had became. As Lewis looked at his new features, he said, looking awestruck before panicking, "Wow, this doesn't look half bad. I look pretty dapper as a skeleton ghost. Wait until the guys see this. The others! Oh, no. The last thing I remember is their screams and Mystery changing into some giant fox before biting off Artie's arm! Oh, god please let them be ok. I have to find them! I have to make sure that they're all alright! But what if they're scared of what I've turned in to..." As he thought of where his friends were, small blobs of spirits came to him, humming and chirping softly. Startled, Lewis looked up, seeing one of the small, pink spirits with yellow hearts in the middle come up to him with the heart. 

He took the locket, (which was now a golden color) opened it, and nearly burst in to tears, seeing two pictures inside that warmed his heart. One of the pictures on the left side of the locket was of him with Vivi, Arthur and Mystery, posing in front of a haunted house; one of their first successful investigations together. The other picture on the right side of the locket was of him, Vivi and Arthur, making peace signs and smiling happily in front of a huge blossom cherry tree; that picture was taken after he and Vivi started to date and they realized that they both had crushes on Arthur but didn't know how to tell him. 

He could feel the love, care and protective nature he has for his friends return tenfold. Looking at the spirits he decided to call deadbeats, they exit the cave that was void of the green mist and the evil force that once plagued it was gone forever. Lewis was floating away and, about two and a half hours later, found an abandoned building; an semi old mansion just waiting to be fixed. He entered it and started to make it into his home with his deadbeats helping him rebuild and refurnish. That night he made a promise. Once he had control over his new abilities and completed the mansion, he would wait for the two people he loves the most to come to him so he could tell them his true feelings. Maybe his afterlife won't be that bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bye bye green demon; you caused so much pain and fear. You deserved being burned by LewLew.


	5. On The Road Again

One Year Later

In Tempo, Texas, the rays of the sun lit up light in an apartment, waking the inhabitants up. Mystery's eyes slowly opened and he let out a yawn as he stretched his legs out. Looking around, he smiled softly, teeth showing faintly as he looked at his two friends. On two beds which were on different sides of the room, two people were sleeping peacefully. On the left side of the room was Vivi. She woke up as she heard the sounds of birds chirping outside and the light that shown through the window. She turned her head to the right and smiled, seeing a metal arm resting on the desk near Arthur's bed. 

On the right side of the room slept Arthur, who, after getting out of the hospital in two months after he was hospitalized and rebuilding his nearly cracked relationship with his parents, spent the last ten months working on his metal prosthetic arm and finally completed it the night before, only to immediately pass out at his desk before he could put it on to test the movement again. 

Vivi giggled softly as she recalled carefully picking Arthur up and placing him in to bed, pulling the blankets over his fragile (and tone; he didn't have that bad of a body. Probably from working out and lifting heavy gear from being a mechanic at his Uncle Lance's shop) form, giving him a kiss on the forehead for a good night's sleep before Mystery jumped on to the mechanic's bed, dozing off, curling protectively beside the boy. She smiled sadly as her gaze went from Arthur's sleeping form to a picture that rested on the desk that was near her bed. A tear slid down her cheek, seeing a moment when they were all smiling and happy; when he was still alive. This was the only picture she decided to keep out; the rest of Lewis's stuff were sent to his family's house except for two personal objects. 

Besides the picture, there was also a purple stuffed alpaca and a purple ascot resting on a shelf; both were gifts that she and Arthur gave him on his tenth birthday. Arthur asked Vivi why she had those items and she told him that they belonged to someone special to all of them, but she couldn't tell him their name because he saw them die and got amnesia from the trauma. That and he might faint with that weird glow again which she and Mystery are still concerned about. Arthur was confused about his friend's answer but left it at that, knowing he shouldn't pry into personal things that made Vivi teary eyed and Mystery bow his head down in grief, regret and sorrow.

After she got dressed, she walked over to the shelf and picked up the ascot, tying it around her blue hair. Once she did that, she walked in to the kitchen, got some omelettes ready in about ten minutes (she is so grateful for the Peppers for teaching her how to cook!) and opened up her phone after feeling it vibrate, seeing an email; someone was asking for help from the Mystery Skulls. Her icy blue eyes narrowed as she read more. She shut her phone off when she saw Arthur walked in, well rested, cleaned, dressed and his metal arm was on. He was also wearing a skull butterfly necklace with three small gems engraved in the front, glowing faintly. 

Before he got out of the hospital, Mystery went off in search of those gems which consists of healing the soul, protecting the mind and loving the body and spirit. He asked Vivi to get the charm to put them on and she got the necklace; she and Lewis planned to give it to Arthur after their love confession. It'll still mean it'll be a symbol of love between the three but it'll do as an protection charm until she tells him the truth. So what happened in the cave, doesn't happen again; no supernatural beings would ever try to take the blonde away from them again. Vivi had to stop her blush from showing because Arthur looked like a cute koala just waking up from it's nap. Geez, she really wants to tell him about her feelings soon... Maybe after solving this case she will do just that.

As he sat down and ate his food, he looked up and said, seeing the stern look on Vivi's face, "What's wrong, Viv?" Vivi looked at Arthur and said, as her look and voice softened, yet held a serious, concern tone inside, "It seems that we have a case to attend to in the next town. It's about a day's drive so we should arrive at night. The people are in a panic; something's causing trouble and they believe it might be some type of monster. There's been evidence of strange growling, missing equipment and people, and weird slime left on the pavement. They want us to check it out. We don't have to go if you want to." Ever since Lewis's death, Vivi always made sure to ask Arthur if they should go on a case, making sure to always be considerate of his feelings. (Even if the last case they took was about six months ago and was just a female ghost looking for her lover, believing they were hurt after the fire that had killed them. They found evidence of what happened in the end, visited the ghost's lover and the ghost thanked them before passing on after seeing their loved one alive, healthy and healing. That was the first time Vivi and Mystery saw Arthur excited on a case involving a real ghost. They were shocked to say the least when the blonde, who was cautious yet curious, talked to the kind spirit, helping her out.)

Arthur looked at his concerned friend as he held his hand up and said, smiling nervously, "It's ok, Viv. Let's check it out. Besides, when's the last time we even went out and solve a real mystery? I'll take a look at the van while you get some supplies. We can leave in about an hour or so." 

Vivi and Mystery, who walked in to the kitchen, flinched, knowing the real reason why they haven't gone on more mysteries then usual. It's been about a year since the cave, since Arthur was possessed and Lewis was killed. Vivi would still have nightmares, although rarely, about what would happen if Mystery hadn't been able to save Arthur from the demon on time or if he remembered what happened to Lewis. Those two outcomes would always be her new fears of losing the last person that she and Lewis loves.

They, along with the Peppers, the Yukinos, Uncle Lance and the Kingsmans, also know not to say Lewis's name at all, for Arthur would get a weird magenta glow around his eyes and he would fall unconscious for a few hours only to wake up with terrible migraines or a splitting headache. (Even though it breaks their hearts to not talk about Lewis, especially the Pepper sisters, who would try to talk about their big brother to Arthur each time he came to visit while Vivi was taking cooking lessons from their parents, hoping he would remember anything. Their hope is slowly dying out, but they aren't giving up.)

As they were coming to their senses, Vivi looked at Mystery, smiled faintly and said, as they started packing supplies for the trip, "Well, Mystery, ready to solve this case?" Mystery looked up at Vivi, staring into her calm, icy blue eyes covered by the girl's pink glasses, said, a small smile spreading across his face, "Yes. It's been a while since we've had a case. Now we must go; we shouldn't keep Arthur waiting. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy to go on a case before." 

Vivi laughed slightly as she and Mystery put the last of the supplies in the van and, as they both got in the van, smiled at Arthur who finished checking the engine and got in to the driver's seat. He put the key in the ignition, starting the vehicle, and smiled at his friends. With music blasting on the radio, the trio set off on the road towards a new adventure, not knowing that they would meet with someone who was familiar to them along the way. Nor would they be expecting what would happen when they found it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's going to happen next?


	6. Ghost: Part One

Forest Hill Road  
Midnight

The road was dark as a orange colored van drove down the road. There was sound coming from inside the vehicle; sounds of music blasting from the radio and people talking and laughing. A man was in the driver's seat while a woman was in the passenger seat and their dog was between them. They were the last living members of the Mystery Skulls and they were driving home after a paranormal investigation in another town that took about a day's drive to get there. The group of three spent the entire time looking for clues, running away from a fake monster and Arthur was nearly captured by the crooks, until they finally got enough evidence to prove what was causing the townspeople to panic, finding the missing science equipments and the ten people, scared but all alive, in the process. After the criminals were sent to jail and before they left town, the kind mayor graciously thanked them for saving their town and people over and over again, giving them a little more money then they set the payment at.

Now they were on their way home to rest and relax. Arthur was in the driver's seat with Vivi, who was sitting in the passenger seat, and Mystery was between the two of them. The radio was blasting with music and they turned to each other, smiling happily, although Vivi's and Mystery's smiles were fake and strained while Arthur's smile was true and real and happy. The girl and dog were still mourning their fourth member's death, nearly losing their blonde mechanic in the process and were now super protective of their most fragile, putting up fake signs to make sure that he wouldn't figure out what was wrong. He would ask them questions if he did see their fake emotions; ones they didn't want to answer. Suddenly, the van started to spark with pink/purple sparks, stopping the vehicle in front of a mansion, pulsing with magenta light; the three passengers inside turning to each other in confusion and shock. 

Didn't they fill up the van and checked the engine before leaving town? They did. But what was going on? Once at a complete stop, they got out of the van, Vivi pulling out her bat from the back; this place definitely screamed 'haunted' to her and she wanted to be prepared. Mystery's face was stern, his snout in a slight cautious look as he stayed close to Arthur and Vivi; he could sense something strange. Arthur was excited, nervous and scared, but he knew that they had to go inside to investigate, not noticing his friends' tense and cautious state. 

They entered the mansion together, only to turn around after hearing the doors slam shut. It was pitch black before a small purple light floated ahead of them, lighting candles two by two before the chandelier above their heads jolted to life with light. As her grip on her bat tightened in her hands, Vivi's eyes went wide in excitement, but also cautiousness. Arthur's frame froze in fear and panic yet a little excitement shown on his face briefly while Mystery, who was closer to the male, was more serious and alert, sensing something powerful and definitely supernatural. Then small pink ghosts with yellow eyes and hearts on their chests floated closer to them, mouthing as if they were singing. They actually looked super cute until they went hostile with fangs and claws coming out, scaring Arthur, Vivi and Mystery; that scare ended up getting the paranormal investigators to run down the hallway. 

As they were running down the hall, they had to jump from narrowly avoiding a suit of armor's sword that seemed to come alive; Vivi jumping high in the air, Arthur sliding across the floor with his hands out in front of his face and Mystery had to shrink his head into his collar from being decapitated. They immediately jumped into each other's arms when they saw the paintings jump out, only to look down after the picture of the Duchess (who gave a small, hesitant and kind smile...?) pulled a lever, a trap door opening below their feet. Arthur, Vivi and Mystery fell deeper into the hole; three mirrors behind them. Vivi and Mystery could clearly see that Athur's mirror showed him without his left arm and there was black around his eyes as he looked into it. (For him, he only saw his eye color staring back in the mirror, no black in sight) They didn't bother looking at their mirrors; Mystery's was cracked while Vivi's showed herself, except her blue headband, original hairstyle and her baby blue eyes were bright with happiness, joy and love were present. 

Vivi's dark blue eyes widened in horror when she realized that Arthur was going down faster then her and Mystery. She put her right hand out and shouted, as she reached out to her friend in fear, "Artie, take my hand! Hurry!!" Arthur's left arm reached out to hold Vivi's out stretched hand, only for his eyes to widen in panic when he slipped right through her fingers, a strange force pulling him down. He screamed out, fear in his amber eyes, "V-vivi! Help me please! I'm scared!" as he fell deeper and deeper until his screams faded away. 

Vivi and Mystery landed softly in a bedroom which was well furnished with lovely furniture. After landing on the flush couch, she immediately got up, ran towards the door with her bat held tightly in her hand and turned the doorknob as she heard a low, fearful and angered growl from Mystery. Briefly seeing multiple tails swishing furiously side to side as she turned her head and then stepped forward, she ran down the hall with Mystery, who transformed into his kitsune form after seeing Arthur disappear, growling in panic, fear and anger; the two desperately trying to locate their scared member and save him from who was in control of this place. They didn't see the small pink ghosts, no longer hostile, but calm and gentle and friendly, flying after them to try and calm them down; the deadbeats desperate to give their master time to explain and give what he (unknowingly) stole to a certain mechanic downstairs in the basement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again... What will happen?


	7. Ghost: Part Two

Meanwhile In The Basement

Arthur landed on his butt in front of a coffin that had a skull symbol on the front; the entirety being black with a dash of magenta, making it look creepy yet beautiful. The blonde, hamster loving mechanic got up, rubbing his sore behind as he looked around, stunned at seeing well made furniture and other accessories, like pictures, a queen sized bed and a small dresser. Whoever used to lived here left the mansion in great shape, even the basement was left in beauty. However, Arthur didn't want to find out if the owner was still there, waiting to pounce. He turned to find a way out only to freeze mid-step at hearing a 'creaking' noise. It came from the coffin. 

Fear gripping his very soul, Arthur turned around, hoping to be wrong, only for his eyes to widen in panic at seeing it start to open by itself as he jumped away in fright. Once the coffin was fully open, he could see a tall skeleton ghost with a floating skull, who was dressed in a black tuxedo with a purple tie on, inside, along with a golden heart floating in front of the ghost's chest. Arthur was just about to hightail it outside the door, excitement all but gone, fear and terror replacing the emotion, only to stop as he saw the ghost open its eyes and look at him, making him gasp in confused wonder. The eyes were a lovely shade of magenta, stunning and confusing the blonde. Where has he seen that color before? 

The ghost's magenta eyes widened in what seemed to be shock, surprise and hope as it slowly got out, saw him and started to float towards the terrified mechanic, stopping in front of him. As the ghost stopped, it said, as the ghostly being pointed to it's golden, pulsing heart, "Artie, it's ok. You're safe, mi corazón. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm so glad that you are safe and alive. Here. Look inside my anchor. You'll understand who I am." The heart started to float towards a slightly curious and still terrified Arthur, who nearly froze at how familiar the echoy yet soft baritone voice was to him. 

Normally when this type of contact happens to the Mystery Skulls, Arthur was usually the one who faced possession and kidnapping from the thousands of supernatural baddies and crazy cults they come across. On some of the more rare cases, he came very close to actually dying in some cult ritual or ghost trying to devour his soul; his friends always came to his rescue and saved him before it was too late. Now, however, it look like this vengeful (but he could feel that it's aura radiates that of a guardian angel!? How is that possible?...) ghost was calm, it's gaze looking at him gently, and wanted to show the blonde something; maybe it has something to do with the heart locket floating towards him. Just who was this ghost? How and why did it know his name? Did he know him before he died? Why did the ghost feel and look so familiar?

His hands reached out to grab hold of the locket, his mind becoming fuzzy, something inside him screaming out 'You know this person! You know who this is!' but he couldn't remember where or who. For the past year he felt as if something was out of place but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out, especially since his companions wouldn't tell him anything about why they were sad, guilty, and regretful when ever he's not in the same room with them. He wants to know what's going on and what he was missing; why his loved ones were so hurt emotionally. Maybe this ghost could help him figure it out. 

So with his hands outstretched, Arthur held the pulsing heart, touching the locket with his flesh and metal hand as it opened, revealing two pictures that were familiar to him. He recognized them both as he saw something in the pictures in front of him. Looking at the very clear picture of the tall, purple clothed, tan skinned man with kind, caring magenta eyes beside the smiling faces of him, Vivi and Mystery, his eyes widened as he said, before his mind went bright with magenta, "Wait a minute, you're..." His sentence was cut off as pink/purple magic shot out of the anchor and into his amber eyes; Arthur falling to his knees as he fainted, reliving memories of who Lewis was to him and his friends. He didn't hear the ghost shout out his name in shock, worry and concern as he rushed to catch the young man. 

The ghost, Lewis, caught Arthur before the mechanic's face could hit the ground and he held him in his arms as the blonde recovered everything from his 'broken' mind, worried and frightened as to why Arthur had fainted after seeing the pictures; he only wanted to show who he was to Arthur, that he was Lewis. He didn't expect Arthur to collapse or for magic to hit him.

Lewis watched in worry and concern as he held his best friend, gently running a hand through orange-blonde hair. He took the time to see new changes which were the prosthetic arm, marveling at the craftsmanship but also knowing that it would always be a reminder of that night of what he was forced to do and the necklace around the blonde's neck before looking at Arthur's face, baffled by the magic (his magic wth!?) radiating off of the blonde's amber eyes. Before Lewis could figure out what had caused this, the basement door was blown open and standing in the doorway, as Lewis, who was shocked, turned around with Arthur still in his arms, was a furious Vivi wielding a bat and Mystery, who was growling in his kitsune form, glaring at the ghost. He never saw them so protective in fury which caused fear to go through him.

Vivi's eyes locked with the still form of their friend before looking at him and, as she raised her bat and ran towards Lewis, shouted, protective anger shown on her face, "Let my friend go you blasted ghoul or else!" Fear and panic gripping him as he turned to his human form, Lewis quickly shouted back, as he flew up with Arthur still in his arms, "Vivi! Wait! Stop! Don't hit me with the bat! It's me, Lewis!" Stopping before she could hit him hard on his head, Vivi looked up in shock, tears fresh in her eyes as her hold on the bat loosened and fell from her hand as she saw someone she hadn't seen in over a year and quietly spoke, in hope, "Lewis? Is it really you?" Behind them, Mystery's eyes widened in surprise as he drank in the calm and familiar aura before nearly howling in utter relief and happiness; his young pup was back! Lewis has come back as a powerful ghost! Oh thank the gods. He didn't fail his charges as he had thought! 

Vivi walked towards Lewis, her hands shaking as she started to cry. She stopped in front of him as he floated down to the ground. As they sat with their knees on the ground, she reached out her hand and touched Lewis's face, crying as she said, smiling faintly at feeling him here and solid, "You came back. Oh, LewLew! Never leave us again you stupid idiot! I thought that you were gone forever." Leaning into her touch, Lewis looked at Vivi and said, as he still held Arthur close in between them, "Don't worry, Vivi. I'm never leaving you, Arthur or Mystery again. And I'll make sure to never let harm come to any of you ever again." 

Before Mystery walked to his little family, he saw that Arthur had the glow again, only this time it was pulsing slowly and the blonde had different expressions on his face. Mystery's eyes widened as he looked at his charges, realizing what that means. Hoping and wishing to be wrong, he turned his head and saw the last bits of sparks from an anchor that was opened near his charge as his eyes widened in fear and said, realizing what Lewis did, "Lewis, did you give Arthur his memories of you back?" Eyes widening in alarm, Lewis looked at Mystery and said, as he saw Vivi freeze and looked at Arthur, "Wait, what do you mean by Artie not remembering me!? I only wanted to take my death away from him. I know he was possessed and I don't blame him! It was never his fault! But I didn't know I blocked myself from his mind entirely!" 

Suddenly, Vivi was filled with terror. She looked at Mystery and Lewis, saying, in fear and panic, "Mystery, Lewis, what if he remembers the cave and blames himself? What will we do if he remembers your death, LewLew?" That question froze the two supernatural beings in the room; they didn't want Arthur to remember that... that horrible night! They know that he was possessed and couldn't do a thing to stop it, even if he was fighting against it. Looking at their unconscious member, they desperately hoped that he didn't remember Lewis's death. They didn't want him to be guilty for a crime that he didn't commit; one that he had no control over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no poor tangerine! Will he remember everything?


	8. Arthur: Memory Reboot

In Arthur's Mind

He was falling endlessly. He was screaming loudly. Then something caught him, held him within the fragile soul's mind above the darkness. Protective purple surrounded him, holding him gently, filling him with warmth, care and love. It was pushing away the fear, panic and anxiety he felt. Why did this feel familiar? Small pieces of memories started to flood in. Seeing a small boy with purple hair in girlish clothes being bullied by bigger kids and he saw himself as a child standing up for the purple haired child. He... He remembered this. This was when he saved and met L... L... Le... Lew... Lewis Pepper. That was his name. Suddenly it was like a gun went off as more familiar memories flooded in to his mind.

Arthur remembered saving Lewis from the bullies, meeting for the first time, the days they spent together hanging out at either his or Lewis's house with their families, all the games they played and the movies they saw together, their growing friendship, meeting Vivi in middle school, having tons of adventures, all of them graduating together from the same high school, finding and helping Mystery, becoming the Mystery Skulls after they all finished their first college classes, the investigations they went on, realizing he loved both his friends after Vivi and Lewis started to date on their trip to Japan visiting the girl's loved ones nearly three years after starting the Mystery Skulls and feeling like a third wheel seeing them being all sweet to each other... He remembered everything. He remembered who Lewis was and what he meant to him.

Arthur started to tear up at seeing all these memories. How could he have forgotten Lewis, his best friend and the man he loves, for an entire year!? Did something happened that caused him to forget!? But what made him forget? Looking around, he saw only one memory left, but it was covered in black-purple shackles, floating in front of him. From afar, he could make out faint pieces of the memory. But not enough to know the whole story. Curious and a little bit cautious, Arthur floated towards it and started to pull on the chains. As his will was stronger in his mind and the more he pulled, the more the chains broke. With one final pull, the last shackle was off and, after touching the bubble with his hands, the memory started to play out.

He remembered going into the dark, demonic looking, green misted cave, having a bad feeling about it, warning the others about it being dangerous, splitting up and going with Lewis on the high path, hearing a vile, evil voice telling him terrible things like 'Kill them.' 'They never needed you.' 'Worthless use of space.' and, the last one made him freeze in terror and shock, 'You belong to me, Puppet.', the feeling of his left side leaving him as he realized what was going on, the horror, fear, despair and disgust as he felt what the demon wanted to do to him after it used him to kill his friends, the demon laughing out loud and in his mind as his heartbroken, grief stricken soul self screamed at witnessing Lewis's death, the terror that it would kill Vivi next after hearing her scared, horrified scream, the pain of having his arm ripped off by a seven tailed fox in order to save him from the demon's clutches and... he remembered seeing pink/purple magic strike him before his mind went blank.

He remembered the cave and the demon turning his skin green and what happened to Lewis and the demon's laughing in utter wicked insanity and the feeling of numbness and fear and pain and sorrow and terror and horror and guilt and Mystery growling and the blood curling screams and the sound of ripping and tearing of flesh and... And... And... 

Oh dear God... THAT DEMON MADE HIM KILL HIS BEST FRIEND!! His bright yellow-orange soul-self screamed out, in sadness and guilt, feeling everything slam into him at once, "No, no, no, no, no, please, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!! LEWIS!!!" The next thing he knew before blacking out was a flash of bright light in the darkness. 

In the real world

Amber eyes snapped opened as the blonde shouted, nearly in tears, "Lewis!" That startled the three inhabitants whom were beside him, waiting for him to wake up. Arthur took deep breaths and looked around, spotting Vivi and Mystery (who was back in his dog form; he didn't want to scare Arthur with his other form), who were on his right side and looking at him in concern, the bluenette holding his right hand gently and the dog on his lap, gazing at him in worry. He smiled slightly at seeing that they were ok. Somehow knowing that this dog was the one who saved him from the demon and feeling no fear, he went to scratch Mystery behind the ears with his left hand but he felt a pressure on it. 

Confused, he turned his gaze to his left side, feeling someone holding him firmly and gently. Once he saw who was beside him, however, his breath froze in his throat and tears gathered in his eyes. He recognized the shape of the spectral, pink hair, broad shoulders and magenta eyes. And that face... The ghost's face was the same as his best friend. He didn't dare believe it but there was the proof right in front of him. For looking worriedly at him was someone who he thought was gone forever. The one who was killed by the demon from that wrenched cave. The skeleton ghost... The one who owns the mansion... It was... "L-Lewis?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha he remembers LewLew now. But what will Artie do now?


End file.
